Book recommendations are special, and more so when they come from people whose works you like and follow. So as a year-end exercise we thought of asking some of the authors we like to recommend a book that they read in 2011 and liked the most and here’s what came out

Abhimanyu Sisodia recommends “River God by Wilbur Smith“
It’s based in Ancient Egypt and the author did a brilliant job of depicting not only the way of life but also the psychology of people in those times. I mean slavery was the trend back then, and the way characters in the book, even the most mature ones, justified it just totally showed you how they could delude even the slaves into believing they needed it.

Angela Saini recommends “The Poisoner’s Handbook: Murder And The Birth Of Forensic Medicine In Jazz Age New York by Deborah Blum”
It’s a scientific thriller, pacy and easy to read

Arundati Dandapani recommends “Zero Dial by J. Dey“
A peek into the testy lives of informers gangsters and the police. Murky daring brave, gets you under the skin of Mumbai city like no other.

Ashwin Sanghi recommends “Lucknow Boy: A Memoir by Vinod Mehta“
I have always believed that fact is stranger than fiction and Vinod Mehta’s book is proof of that. The narrative is absolutely delicious because it reads like fiction whereas we know that it’s fact.

Deanne Panday recommends here book “I’m not stressed“
You too might be stressed like 50% of the working population in india. I share with you the secrets to tackle this looming lifestyle problem.i have worked on this book with the countries leading psychiatrists,cardiologists,endocrinologists,and personalities like Karan Johar,Bipasha basu,Lara dutta,John abraham,Leander paes,ekta Kapoor.shahrukh khan.. Stay fit & stress free.

Durjoy Datta recommends “The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid”
It’s amazing how the author captures a plethora of emotions and a gamut of social issues in a single dialogue. I have never read a monologue as interesting as this one.

Madhuri Banerjee recommends “Ithaca by David Davidar”David is an icon in the publishing world. When he writes a book, it is a legacy that he leaves behind. Ithaca is a fantastic book that is lucid in language and thrilling in pace. A must buy

Nazia Mallick recommends “Perfume – the story of a murderer by Patrick Suskind”
In brief I could say that Perfume is a book in which loneliness is trapped like a caged bird and is used as a great fear factor. It is something to be scared of. Something to be curiously inspired by and something that would shake the core of anyone reading through its implications.

Nikita Singh recommends “11.22.63 by Stephen King“
I liked the way the author meshes the reality with what-could-have-happened. The book takes you to some other world. The pace is racy, and the plot gets so interesting by the end of it, that it keeps you hooked. Every page is a masterpiece!

Ravi Handa recommends “The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins“
The book has a radically new way of looking at evolution. At least it is a radically new way for those of us who did not study biology beyond the compulsory class 10th. As to what we have studied or rather what we remember, evolution works towards protecting the species and it is the fittest species that survives.

Sachin Garg recommends “The Last Lectureby Randy Pausch”
The book is a perfect amalgamation of emotions, motivation and realism by a man, opening his heart in the face of terminal cancer. Loved every word of it.

Samit Basu recommends “Habibi by Craig Thompson”
Beautifully written and drawn graphic novel by the author of Blankets about gaps in culture and bridges built by stories.

Suhel Seth recommends “The Idea of Justice by Amartya Sen“
Amartya Sen’s The Idea of Justice is an evocative work which helps the reader gain a remarkable insight into the manner in which justice and fairness must be differentiated and the role that socieites and religions have played in its evolution..

Swetha Prakash recommends “Dattatreya by Antonio Rigopoulos”This is an academic book on theology.The sort I love reading. Dattatreya is truely amazing. It speaks of a liminal god, firmly established in the margins of society and yet being completely in the center of everything. Mindblowing.

Tabish Khair recommends “Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad”
Having read most of Conrad, I had somehow not read this work. A book that stays in mind for both its structure and itsnarrative, as is the case with great novels: the former element, in particular, has suffered in recent years, with the focus being too much on insipid, straight ‘storytelling’. Lord Jim is a novel that is greater than the sum of its parts, a deep and gripping exploration of power, love, trust, responsibility, self-deceit and humanity, and a telling commentary on the ‘idea’ that supposedly justifies colonisation in Conrad’s great novella, Heart of Darkness.

Vijayendra Haryal recommends “Freakonomics”
Absolutely stunning way of looking at data- reaffirms , ‘ There are no facts, only interpretations’

Vijayendra Mohanty recommends “Kabul Disco”
A graphic novel memoir by Nicolas Wild of his time spent in Afghanistan. It does not condescend and it does not exoticise. An honest and entertaining comic book.

Thanks everyone for their inputs

If you are an Indian author and would like us to include your recommendations in this list. Please send us an email on talk@dialabook.in or comment here.